Valentine's Day
by Krissyy
Summary: Daniel has a surprise for Charlotte. Charladay fluff, one shot, Charlotte's POV


I've never really been the sweet, lovable type. Not at all. I was more along the lines of irritable and poisonous, in the eyes of most people.

Most people… But not Daniel. He liked me, if no one else did. And that's what worried me.

A wave crashed in front of where I was sitting, crawling forward just close enough to touch my toes. Sighing, I slid my hands in the sand until I was lying down, and closed my eyes to block out what was left of the sun's light as it set.

Daniel really wasn't that bad. I actually enjoyed the time I spent with him, and he had made this whole trip a little more… bright. But, honestly, did he want to put up with me and my supposed bad attitude all the time?

"Charlotte!" came a familiar voice, although it wasn't soft and serene as it usually was, instead rather out of breath and eager.

I opened my eyes and sat up, smiling. "Hi, Dan."

He returned the grin, seeming a bit jumpy, then held out his hand. "I want to show you something."

He took hold of my hand and helped me up, starting to walk down the beach without letting go of it. I looked down at my feet where they were treading through the wet sand, leaving imprints behind.

"Where are we going?" I wondered.

There was a pause. "Do you… do you know what day it is?" he asked.

I glanced up. "No."

"It's Valentine's Day."

I blinked, caught off guard. "Oh- Oh, it is?"

Dan nodded, a half-smile appearing on his face. "I've been keeping track of the days, and today's Valentine's Day… so… I figured I'd give you a- a little surprise, I guess you could call it. That is, if you want-" He suddenly hesitated.

Nodding enthusiastically, I said, "Yeah, of course I want it." He smiled again and I thought I saw his face go a little red before he turned away quickly.

It was getting dark. There were fewer and fewer people on the beach as we got farther from the camp, until it seemed to be only us two, and then we stopped. I hadn't realized he'd been holding my hand the entire time until he released it, and I suddenly felt heat ride to my own face, hoping it was hidden by the darkness.

Daniel knelt down, pulling something out of his backpack. A blanket. He set it out in the sand and began smoothing out the creases. I bent down to help him and then we settled on top of it.

Leaning back on my hands, I looked over at him. He grabbed something else from the backpack, a bag of something, and turned it upside, spilling its contents between us on the blanket.

"What's all this?" I asked, reaching into the pile and picking up something solid, with a crinkly wrapper. "Is this a- ?"

"Candy bar," he said. "Yeah."

I laughed, taking a handful of the candy then letting it slip out of my hand. "Where did you get all of it?"

"Ah," he said, smirking. "Well, that's my secret, now, isn't it?" He grabbed a chocolate bar and started to unwrap it. I was doing the same when suddenly I saw something vivid and bright shoot across the night sky.

"Wow! Daniel, look, look!" I exclaimed, sitting up straight and pointing to it. "A shooting star!"

He nodded, watching it intently. "The Alpha Centaurids."

"The, er, the what, now?" I asked as it disappeared from view.

"The Alpha Centaurids," he repeated. "A meteor shower occurring in February."

I grinned, understanding, gazing up at the sky. "So you knew this was going to happen tonight."

"Yeah," he said, hastily adding, "Don't get too excited, though. It's not a very big shower… Maybe three meteors an hour."

I shook my head, finally taking a bite of chocolate. "It's good enough for me." I hadn't tasted chocolate in what felt like forever, and savored the moment, letting it melt on my tongue. "Mmm," I murmured dreamily, my eyes shut. "This is fantastic, Dan."

He chuckled, probably at my expression, but I knew he must have been enjoying the candy just as much as I was.

"Hey, look!" he called out suddenly, and my eyes snapped open. "Another one!"

Sure enough, a second meteor was trailing through the sky. "We must be lucky," I stated. "That's two in ten minutes."

"Almost unheard of," he agreed, struggling to get the wrapper off of a second candy bar, and turned to look at me, his eyes sparkling. "We _are_ pretty lucky."

I smiled, almost nervously, as I studied his face, but just then, there was a horrible, loud boom in the distance that made me jump. Apparently it had only been thunder, though, because not one second later, rain started pouring down on us. Pouring. Huge cracks of lightning streamed down to the horizon threateningly.

"Come on!" yelled Dan. "We've got to go back!"

I sprang up to my feet, watching him do the same, and gathered up the blanket in my hands, candy safely wrapped in the center. He zipped up the backpack, slinging it over his shoulder as I did the same with the blanket bundle, and we started to hurry back to the camp.

It's pretty hard to run through muddy, wet sand, especially with bare feet, and especially when you're blinded by freezing cold rain pelting down all around you. So, needless to say, the journey back was not very pleasant. It was a relief when the camp came into view and we trudged the last few steps to our tent.

I scrambled inside, Dan following clumsily. As he secured the flap of the tent, I collapsed onto the ground, throwing aside the limp, dripping blanket I'd been carrying and wringing out my hair.

Dan turned, sitting down, a sheepish expression on his face. "Sorry."

Only he, with his twisted, crazy, brilliant mind, could somehow blame himself for this.

"It's not your fault," I said, picking at my wet shirt and wishing I had a change of clothes as I shivered slightly.

"But if I hadn't brought you out there," he pointed out, "you wouldn't-"

"Honestly, Daniel," I cut him off, then continued in a softer, warmer tone. "I'm really glad you did. That was sweet."

He was done arguing, his mouth twisting into another half-smile. He grabbed my blanket, dry and welcoming unlike the tangled mess of one I just brought in, from my bed and handed it to me. I wrapped it around my shoulders appreciatively, then glanced at his bed only to find the blanket gone and realize that it was the one that had been with us and gotten soaking wet.

"Oh- No, Dan, you can have this," I said, unraveling the blanket from around me and shoving it into his hands.

"No, no," he protested, draping the blanket back over my shoulders tenderly. "It's yours."

I frowned, and settled on a compromise. "We can share it."

"You don't have to-"

"Yes," I interrupted him again. "I do. Come here." I stuck out my arm, holding the end of the blanket with it.

He edged forward, settling beside me, and I held my breath as one side of the blanket was transferred from my grasp to his. It was considerably warmer now.

"Thanks," he mumbled.

We sat there for a while, listening to the rain patter continuously outside, until one of us remembered that there was a stash of chocolate nearby just begging to be eaten. The rest of the night was spent talking and laughing, sugar high. Completely forgetting where we were or anyone else who was here but just us two.

It was the best Valentine's Day I could have ever imagined.

**AN: I'm not really sure when this was supposed to take place. I guess just pretend the end of season 4 didn't happen until after Valentine's Day... that would work. **


End file.
